[7paintball]

Originally Posted by The Inflicted

Ever tried to take apart a Gryphon for cleaning?
It's a nightmare.

While we're looking at ultra-cheap Paintball starter kits, this one's pretty stacked for $114.
I haven't taken a Cronus apart yet, but at least it only has a single layer of clamshells to take apart.
http://www.amazon.com/Tippmann-Cronu...ntball+package

Cronus for sure. Amazing markers for anyone starting out.

[woda]

My vote is GoG enmey. We have them as rentals; easy maintenance, small trigger pull, light, quiet, life time warranty. Get a JT revolution hopper, an HPA tank, and you're in business.

[woda]

Also, I don't know much about the Cronus; but I would highly recommend not getting the mask in that player pack. Its garbage.

The MOST important piece of equipment is your mask, if its comfortable you're never going to touch it and if you don't touch it, you're not going to take it off when you're not supposed to, and if you don't take it off when you're not supposed to, you won't lose an eye.

If you have a store close to home with a good selection of masks, go and try them all on. Put it on and walk around for a minute or two, if you are annoyed by it in that amount of time, you will certainly be annoyed by it when on the playing field.

When it comes to a mask don't be cheap.

[PaintballNinja00]

The Tippmann 98 or the A5 is the best way to go. I just got my A5 today

[seahiker]

Originally Posted by PaintballNinja00

The Tippmann 98 or the A5 is the best way to go. I just got my A5 today

If you don't mind me asking... I assume you are a relatively new player and you stated that the Tippmann "is the best way to go", so something made up your mind about the brand. Nothing's wrong with it.
Well, the actual question: why did you choose the A5 over the 98C?

[inferno2inferno]

I don't actually see a problem with guns that require effort to take apart. I mean, more players should learn to take apart their guns so they can learn good maintenance habits. I used to take my alpha black apart all the time when I was kid, for me, I wasn't allowed a gun I couldn't show my parents how to service on my own.

[FreeEnterprise]

Originally Posted by seahiker

If you don't mind me asking... I assume you are a relatively new player and you stated that the Tippmann "is the best way to go", so something made up your mind about the brand. Nothing's wrong with it.
Well, the actual question: why did you choose the A5 over the 98C?

I own the older 98's and newer 98's as well as older A-5's and newer A-5's, as well as an alpha black, carver one, and Tipx.


By far my favorite is the A-5.

It comes with the Cyclone so you can shoot as fast as you want, I can shoot about 9 balls per second with my semi auto trigger, which is plenty fast enough to hang with anyone on the field. The new A-5 barrel is much nicer than the older style stock A-5 barrel. It is easy to field strip if needed, though you likely won't ever have to...

Once the internals are polished, and you have good o-rings inside (I prefer silicone) it will shoot +/- 3 fps using Co2, which is the cheapest air source around here since tanks are less than $20 for 20 ounces, and fills average about $3...

I like the very small lightweight appearance of the A-5, and the newer style low profile hopper that is offset makes it feel more like a "real" gun if you look down the barrel to shoot. Where the center feed of most paintball guns force you to lean the gun to see down the top of the barrel.

The A-5 will accept the very short new style flatline, which is less than 10 inches long even with the Apex mounted on the end! Making it easy to switch from one side of a tree to the other.

In all, for the money, the a-5 is the best out there.

Here are the negatives for the other Tippmann products I own.

98, hard to take apart, as that stupid spring is such a pain that holds the hopper pin in... You will likely shoot it across the room at least once, and then spend an hour looking for it! It is limited to shake and bake stock, you can put a cyclone on it, but then you still don't have the quick release barrel adapter that comes with the A-5... Plus it is 98 threaded which is a large coarse thread so your barrels are specific to that gun only.

Alpha black, VERY heavy as it has a ton of metal on it. The newer style are better than the older ones, but I have the older one. Yes it looks cool, but it is extremely long, and playing for a few hours you will be worn out just from carrying it... Internally it is like the 98, so that spring is in there... waiting to shoot out when you take it apart... in order to keep the barrel shroud on it, you have to go long with your barrel, so the 14 inch apex won't work, you have to use the 18 inch apex... which is just ridiculously long! No cyclone, so you are shake and bake stock.

Carver one, pretty heavy for a small gun, as it is all metal. The feeder is different than the 98 variations, so it is more limited with less upgrades available.

I would like to turn mine into a first strike marker, but haven't got around to it yet. The stock barrel on mine was lousy, and aftermarket barrels work, as long as they are thin enough to fit through the large foregrip area... You buy this one because you like the way it looks. Not easily upgrade able.

The Tipx breaks paint a lot, unless you really turn down the velocity, and even then you can't leave paint in the mags as they will break in the mags if stored even overnight. Cleaning it is a royal pain, and the stock barrel on it is pretty bad. (it is larger bore and very short). btw, if you have a new style A-5, take that barrel off and throw it on your Tipx, and it will shoot WAY better than the stock Tipx barrel, plus it sticks out far enough that you can tape mod an Apex 1 on the end easily, and then you can shoot much further with it. I use a remote line with mine, as changing co2 cartridges with an apex is impossible.

It also works best with co2, compressed air doesn't have enough "kick" to really make it work at higher velocities (I like mine shooting around 280fps). Course, if you don't have perfect paint, it will just blend paint at that speed...



So, for newbies, I always recommend the A-5, for the money it is just the most reliable, and comes with the cyclone so you can shoot fast if needed, and it is simple to strip down, and has the quick release barrel which makes cleaning the breech or barrel very easy even while playing. You can pull that barrel off in a 1/4 turn and run your squeegie through, and no other gun that I know of does that...

[Frank_W]

GOG enmey is what I would get. I actually picked one up recently and it's just an awesome gun, especially considering it's so cheap. Really light and smooth shooting. I had an a5 a few years ago and the enmey is so much nicer to shoot imo.

[will1442]

If you are trying to play only woodsball then yea id say go with a tippmann. But if you have any inclination at all that you want to play speedball by god please dont. I say go for an Etek 1 or 2 on pbnation. you can find them from 100-200 and they are some of the most reliable and easy to clean guns out there

[tlmiller]

Originally Posted by will1442

If you are trying to play only woodsball then yea id say go with a tippmann. But if you have any inclination at all that you want to play speedball by god please dont. I say go for an Etek 1 or 2 on pbnation. you can find them from 100-200 and they are some of the most reliable and easy to clean guns out there

Even for woodsball I don't see a single advantage of a Tippmann over an Azodin, the Kaos, for instance.

Azodin is lighter.
Azodin is cocker threaded so a barrel kit wouldn't go to waste if they decided later on to get a mid-range or high-end marker
Azodin is cheaper
Azodin is shorter, allowing you to tuck in closer to bunkers

Tippmann IMO only "advantage" is that it looks more like a real firearm, and can be dressed up to REALLY look like a true firearm. If looks are the only thing that matters, then it's pointless to have a thread like this since looks are completely personal opinon.

[paintball_FST (Banned)]

Azodin kaos hands down is the best starter gun, I know a person who got a kaos for $20 plus shipping $30 and it still works after playing almost every weekend for 5 months.

[will1442]

Originally Posted by tlmiller

Even for woodsball I don't see a single advantage of a Tippmann over an Azodin, the Kaos, for instance.

Azodin is lighter.
Azodin is cocker threaded so a barrel kit wouldn't go to waste if they decided later on to get a mid-range or high-end marker
Azodin is cheaper
Azodin is shorter, allowing you to tuck in closer to bunkers

Tippmann IMO only "advantage" is that it looks more like a real firearm, and can be dressed up to REALLY look like a true firearm. If looks are the only thing that matters, then it's pointless to have a thread like this since looks are completely personal opinon.

Agreed, i never understood the tippmann and peoples obsession with them, other than the fact that they can be done up to look like a legit gun. But as for the azodin, yea sure its a great price if he know he is jst going to be playing every once in a while. But if he gets into paintball hes gonna want a new/better marker pretty quick, and then thats $90 down the drain. thats just my opinion though. I just feel that you would get SOOOO much more for your money if you even bought an etek 1 for 125 on here.

[The Inflicted]

Originally Posted by tlmiller

Even for woodsball I don't see a single advantage of a Tippmann over an Azodin, the Kaos, for instance.

Azodin is lighter.
Azodin is cocker threaded so a barrel kit wouldn't go to waste if they decided later on to get a mid-range or high-end marker
Azodin is cheaper
Azodin is shorter, allowing you to tuck in closer to bunkers

Tippmann IMO only "advantage" is that it looks more like a real firearm, and can be dressed up to REALLY look like a true firearm. If looks are the only thing that matters, then it's pointless to have a thread like this since looks are completely personal opinon.

I can think of a couple possible advantages.

Tippmanns are built with much heavier moving parts and looser tolerances than guns like the Spyders and Azodins. This makes Tippmanns less air-efficient, but it also makes them less prone to malfunction or jamming when there is grit or debris in the internal tubes of the gun, or the O-rings start to wear out. This property is what made Tippmanns the most popular rental gun of the last 2 decades.

Tippmanns usually have off-center feednecks, or cylcone systems that bring the feedneck off the top of the gun altogether. This means that while their balance might be a little off-center, they have a clear sight picture down the top of the gun, and usually come with usable iron sights and/or sight rails. Most players don't like/need to use sights on their paintball guns, but I do.

Overall though, I'd agree; the weight and size burdens of using a Tippmann make it a poorer choice for most players compared to guns like the XTra, Kaos, and especially the eNMEy.

[tlmiller]

Originally Posted by The Inflicted

I can think of a couple possible advantages.

Tippmanns are built with much heavier moving parts and looser tolerances than guns like the Spyders and Azodins. This makes Tippmanns less air-efficient, but it also makes them less prone to malfunction or jamming when there is grit or debris in the internal tubes of the gun, or the O-rings start to wear out. This property is what made Tippmanns the most popular rental gun of the last 2 decades.

Tippmanns usually have off-center feednecks, or cylcone systems that bring the feedneck off the top of the gun altogether. This means that while their balance might be a little off-center, they have a clear sight picture down the top of the gun, and usually come with usable iron sights and/or sight rails. Most players don't like/need to use sights on their paintball guns, but I do.

Overall though, I'd agree; the weight and size burdens of using a Tippmann make it a poorer choice for most players compared to guns like the XTra, Kaos, and especially the eNMEy.

Once upon a time last century (the 90's), and even the first few years of this century, I would have agreed. Nowadays, Tippmanns aren't made any better than Azodin/spyder. They're made with just as low a quality but still survive off their reputation. I see just as many newer Tippmanns have issues as the less expensive blowbacks.

The offset feedneck IMO is a disadvantage. At the range paintballs fly and the poor aerodynamic qualities they have, sighting down the side of the barrel is every bit as effective as sighting down the top. And a balanced marker to me is a better advantage than sighting like you would a real firearm.

Originally Posted by will1442

I just feel that you would get SOOOO much more for your money if you even bought an etek 1 for 125 on here.

Oh, I agree with that, IF they think they're going to be playing regularly and get into more competitive play. However, that also raises the cost of the ancillaries as it would require HPA. But yes, if one is sure that they're going to be playing regularly and may decide to play competitively down the road, a more mid-level marker would most definitely be superior.

[The Inflicted]

Originally Posted by tlmiller

Once upon a time last century (the 90's), and even the first few years of this century, I would have agreed. Nowadays, Tippmanns aren't made any better than Azodin/spyder. They're made with just as low a quality but still survive off their reputation. I see just as many newer Tippmanns have issues as the less expensive blowbacks.

I would agree that Tippmann's build quality has gone down dramatically in the last decade or so since moving half their manufacturing overseas. Earlier this month I ran into a new player who had a fresh, out-of-the-package 98 Custom that wouldn't fire due to a mismanufactured sear. Fortunately, another player at the field had a spare Alpha Black sear and I was able to get the gun working (and I probably could have also just used a file) but that's not a good sign for a company that once prided itself in being so reliable.

Again, it's not the build quality that makes Tippmanns inherently more reliable than Spyders/Azodins- it's the loose tolerances and overly-strong blowback exhaust.

The offset feedneck IMO is a disadvantage. At the range paintballs fly and the poor aerodynamic qualities they have, sighting down the side of the barrel is every bit as effective as sighting down the top. And a balanced marker to me is a better advantage than sighting like you would a real firearm

That's fair. It's a preference question.
I like using sights, though. A lot of players with a lot more skill and experience than me do as well.

[Milky19]

98, Kaos, Blitz, used PMR

[HoneyKix]

well, what's your budget? if it was up to me, i would find a cheap timmy or used gear. shoot something until it feels awesome. but you can't go wrong with GoG paintball guns they're pretty solid.

[PBBlastah]

For less than 200 bucks you can get yourself a classic impulse, which is going to perform better than any of these, with better build quality. This was the empire axe of it's day, with insane amounts of customization and upgrade options (this marker STARTED the upgrade craze), and it can keep up with anything your dealing with on the weekend.

[lew]

Originally Posted by PBBlastah

(this marker STARTED the upgrade craze)

You haven't been around long if you think that's true. Folks have been upgrading Cockers since right after they were released.

[Robotech]

Originally Posted by lew

You haven't been around long if you think that's true. Folks have been upgrading Cockers since right after they were released.

Cockers? Try PGP pumps! People have been upgrading their paintball guns since this sport started. Hell, going "constant air" was a modifications many early players made so they could switch from using 12 grams as an air sorce and went to larger CO2 tanks.

[aiden811]

i got the kaos for my first gun new. my brother wanted to get into the sport so i sold him my kaos after about 9 months of having it. next i picked up a used mini off this website for around $150. i am satisfied